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Improved balance performance accompanied by structural plasticity in blind adults after training
Ann-Kathrin Rogge1, Kirsten Hötting1, Volker Nagel2
1Universität Hamburg, Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, Von-Melle-Park 11, 20146, Hamburg, Germany.
Neuropsychologia
|April 21, 2019
Summary
Balance training significantly improves balance performance in blind adults by enhancing vestibular and proprioceptive self-motion perception. This training also induces structural brain plasticity in areas crucial for balance control.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Human Physiology
- Rehabilitation Science
Background:
- Postural control relies on integrating visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive sensory inputs.
- Blind individuals often exhibit poorer balance performance compared to sighted individuals, even with compensatory sensory processing.
- Previous studies indicate lower balance performance in blind individuals despite adaptations in vestibular and proprioceptive systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if balance training enhances balance performance in blind adults.
- To determine if balance training induces structural brain changes in blind adults.
- To compare brain structural changes with those observed in sighted individuals.
Main Methods:
- Fourteen blind adults were randomized into a 12-week balance training group or a relaxation control group.
- Balance tests (dynamic, static, functional) and T1-weighted MRI scans were conducted before and after the intervention.
- Structural brain correlates, including cortical thickness and gray matter volume, were analyzed.
Main Results:
- The balance training group showed significant improvements in all measured balance performance metrics compared to the relaxation group.
- Balance improvements in the blind balance group were comparable to those of sighted adults after similar training.
- Balance training led to increased cortical thickness in the left parahippocampus and decreased thickness in the bilateral inferior insula, with insula changes correlating with balance improvements.
- Reduced gray matter volume was observed in the left hippocampus proper, and increased volume in the right subiculum.
Conclusions:
- Balance training is an effective intervention for improving balance performance in blind adults.
- Balance training induces neuroplasticity in brain regions involved in vestibular and proprioceptive self-motion processing.
- These findings suggest that targeted training can enhance sensory integration and motor control in individuals with visual impairment.
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